The feature article in [Wednesday’s] issue of the Northern Star, “Iraq By the Numbers,” I found to be an exceptional example of sensationalist and highly biased yellow journalism at its finest. The feature of such a tainted article on the front page dramatically damages the credibility of the Northern Star as a worthy news source, and thereby damages the reputability of every writer on its staff. Especially when the byline for the article is listed as editorial board.

To a reader such as myself, this levies accountability of this clearly opinionated piece, belonging snugly in the back pages of the editorial section, upon the entire paper and all of its writers and editors. I now feel that every further article I read in the Northern Star must be taken in with the understanding that the writers and editors behind each article can be highly biased, sensational, students who are in no way above such yellow journalism.

Despite the statement, “Because of this, rather than taking a specific position on the war in an editorial, we have chosen instead to present several numbers. This way, you can become more informed and decide for yourself what opinion to form based on this data.” In this article, a clear anti-war position is taken through the selective use of facts.

It should be clear that despite a lack of textual rhetoric, the selective use and omission of facts is just as potentially strong as a persuasive device. The statement in the article indicates that it is above bias.

However, with a reasonable evaluation of this article, it is quite clear the position that is taken. If this article was not opinionated it would never have been labeled as a perspectives piece in the paper or placed in the opinion section on the Web site. At least Northern Star got that right.

Also, the statement that opinions are becoming more unified is truly false. While there has been a steady increase in distaste for the war, recent successes have in many cases reinforced the convictions of many supporters of the Iraq war, that the war must be allowed to run its full course in order to fulfill a moral obligation to the Iraqi people. Therefore, the divide is actually deeper, however less-than-equally represented.

The fact of the matter is that an opinion article truly has no place on the front page of any respectable news source. The article, “Iraq By the Numbers” made the Northern Star look like a grocery checkout tabloid. I would very much like to have more respect for my campus paper than such a relegation.

Even within the editorials section, most respectable papers provide for counterbalancing opinion columns, I realize that due to the Star’s size this is not always possible; however, when dealing with such controversial and highly contested issues, an effort should be made to provide overall equal representation in the editorials.

I doubt sincerely the Northern Star will be running a full front page feature promoting optimism and support for the war any time soon.


Respectfully,

Brett Pinkepank
Sophomore, meteorolgy

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